W1982 weighing

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W1982 Weighing of the heart scene

Summary: In this scene the deceased is judged by having their heart weighed against truth and cosmic order, i.e. Ma’at. It was believed that if the heart was heavy and thus the deceased was not ‘True of Voice’ the heart would be eaten by the Devourer (Ammut). The Devourer is also shown on this coffin in the scenes depicting Osiris enthroned and Osiris on the mound.This vignette, together with that of the deceased being led before the enthroned Osiris, and the ‘jubilation scene’, may all be considered part of the larger judgement theme, related to chapter 125, ‘the declaration of innocence’ of the Book of the Dead and additionally chapter 30, the ‘Chapter of the heart’ (Yoyotte 1961, 44). The weighing of the heart scene is central in that it shows the actual judgement of the deceased upon which their afterlife depends.